TRAINING

In May of 1994, the first 40 hour experiential "Third-Party Neutral", CBCR  training process was designed and delivered in Ottawa, Canada, by RP Birt. It was attended by 16 people. Since then, tens of thousands of people from all walks of life, cultures and age groups have participated in some form of that process. It has been delivered in many languages and in many countries.

What is now called Foundational Process ™, has had many different titles. The most widely used title, Becoming a Third-Party Neutral (TPN l)© , was originally licensed to the Canadian Institute for Conflict Resolution in 1996 as Version 2.0. They have successfully delivered the course and trained trainers world wide. Many of those participants  have gone on to careers as practitioners and trainers.

Since 1994 there have been changes and additions. TPN l is now in Version 6.0.  Experience has been a good teacher for experiential process. Lessons learned in the field have been constantly integrated into the process design. Additions such as; Fundamental Conflict, Protocol and Convention Processes, Legacy-Based Conflict Analysis, as well as new characters for Alligatortown, have enriched the process. 

Innovations have contributed to the effectiveness of the Third-Party Neutral as a practitioner. Principled Arbitration as a CBCR process and the application of "Field Process" as an intervention process for communities in conflict, are examples that have expanded the practitioner's "tool box".

Designs may vary and applications are endless. Foundational Process™, called by any name, is  principle-based and values driven. Its effectiveness is most often measured by the application of the principles and the commitment of Process Leaders to model them.